Teachers should not be forced into schools against their wishes and without the approval of the school community.

If that sounds like an obvious observation, consider this: Just a few years ago, teacher employment in Colorado — and particularly in Denver — didn’t always follow those simple rules. It wasn’t until 2010 legislation, Senate Bill 191, changed how teachers are evaluated and transferred that the old practices stopped.

Before that law, veteran teachers who lost their jobs were often forcibly placed into available slots in a district.

Those teachers tended to be placed with the poorest and most challenged students and in schools that didn’t want them.

The practice was termed “the dance of the lemons.”

SB 191’s “mutual consent” provision got rid of the forced placement process. Teachers are now hired at schools upon approval of the principal — in other words, placed in schools that want them.

Those who cannot find employment are given a year of paid leave to find work or two hiring cycles to find a job, which could amount to 18 months. If they can’t, they are put on unpaid leave indefinitely.

The mutual consent provision of SB 191 has been under attack for years in both the courts and legislature — and this year yet another bill was introduced to undermine its provisions. Rep. Joe Salazar, D-Thornton, is the sponsor of House Bill 1099, which calls for eliminating SB 191’s mutual consent provision altogether.

Meanwhile, Denver teachers’ lawsuit against the district over mutual consent grinds on. The case was dismissed in district court before a reversal on appeal. It may be headed to the Colorado Supreme Court for a final ruling.

The irony is that all this is occurring while the new legal provisions seem to be working. In Denver, for example, of the hundreds of teachers dismissed after SB 191 went into effect, only 53 at the present time have failed to find positions after two hiring cycles.

Teachers and administrators are choosing each other. No one is being forced into bad situations. It is truly mutual consent, which is good for kids and teachers alike.

Moreover, we’d argue that the present rules still provide teachers with more job security and a greater financial cushion than the average Coloradan. After all, how many other employees, whether blue collar or career professional, enjoy up to 18 months’ paid leave upon losing their job?

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